There will be bunting, flags, and many, many tears this weekend as a nation watches Charles III crowned King of the United Kingdom. And as our new monarch makes his way through Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May, for our first coronation in 70 years, you might be wondering who’s behind the music accompanying such an important moment. That man is Patrick Doyle. He’s a Scottish film composer, whose IMDb credits include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Sense and Sensibility and Thor – and he only got the coronation march gig a few months ago. “When the call came through from the Palace, it was rather intimidating,” he tells us. “It was between Christmas and New Year and I was just about to leave for Scotland, to see the clan up there. To take the news with me and keep it to myself – because I was sworn to secrecy – was agony, absolute agony!” His first reaction was “complete terror” he says, adding, “I had this sinking feeling in my stomach, thinking, ‘Oh my God, is this real?’ Millions of people will be watching!’ But Patrick – who is nominated for an Ivor Novello at the forthcoming awards for his work on Death on the Nile – says he also understood it was a “tremendous honour”, revealing how everything else in his life “ground to a halt” once he embarked on the commission.
How does the King Charles III Coronation March sound?
“It became all consuming,’ he explains. “The research, the thoughts, the recollections, the skills. King Charles III Coronation March is only four minutes and it came in at 3.55, with five seconds for reverb! What I ended up writing was an overture march, which really captures aspects of King Charles’ character. There are four sections and each section has a little story. The first section is a heraldic opening – it’s ceremonial and full of pageantry because of what the job is. The second section moves along with a quicker pace, like the march of time, and has a strong Celtic influence. The third section is joy, fun and fireworks. And finally, the last section is romantic, reflective, building to a big, triumphant climax at the end. All in all, the piece should be uplifting and fun. We had a rehearsal a few weeks ago, which was recorded for King Charles who’d asked to hear it once before the big day. The reaction was very positive!”
The classically-trained musician, who turned 70 last month, has known King Charles since the eighties. Although – he tells Grazia – that first meeting did not go as planned. “It was the opening night of a stage adaptation of Twelfth Night, directed by Kenneth Branagh. Everyone was very nervous – especially when we heard Prince Charles was going to be in the audience. I was on stage playing the piano, with just a lamp to light my music. The house lights went down, I started to play, and halfway through, the lamp fell off, pushing the music all over my chest! It was total silence in the theatre, I was completely mortified; my life flashed in front of me. Instinctively I shouted, ‘Has anyone seen page one!?’ There was a huge laugh and I turned around and saw the former Prince of Wales rocking back and forth, laughing. Backstage afterwards, he came up and said, ‘That was very funny, you should do that every night!’ I’ve met him a few times since and he’s good fun – a good laugh. I like him very much.” Pre-coronation, the last time the pair met was in Scotland, at Dumfries House, a community project King Charles, 74, was raising funds for. “I hadn’t seen him for ages!” Patrick says. “He came up and went, ‘What are you doing here?! You’re looking very distinguished!’ And I said ‘So are you! You suit a kilt better than me!’ We chatted for ages and people were trying to pull him away, saying ‘You’re late you’re late!’”
It’s not the first time Patrick’s ruined a royal schedule. When he met the late Queen Elizabeth II, he says they couldn’t stop talking; annoying others in the line waiting to meet her. “They said to me, ‘Don’t forget to address her as ‘Your Majesty’ and then afterwards as ‘ma’am’,” explains Patrick. “But when I turned around, there she was and I just went, ‘HELLOOOOOO!’ And she went, ‘HELLOOOOOO!’ Then a voice went, ‘And what about me?’ It was Prince Phillip! We started chatting about music technology, MP3s and how it’s changed things in film. A friend was in the line, too, saying, ‘Will he ever shut up? We’ll be here all night!’”
And then there was the time he hung out with Princess Margaret at the Queen Mother’s birthday celebrations. Patrick explains: “I composed a piece for the Queen Mother’s 90th, and Prince Charles kindly invited my mother and father to the celebrations. They were absolutely beside themselves, but then we were up in the ballroom and all my mother kept saying throughout the music was, ‘The draft is right up my skirt, it’s terrible, ugh!’ I couldn’t believe it! But she knew who everyone was and Princess Margaret came up and said, ‘Come and meet some Dukes!’ She’s a laugh, and my mother was in seventh heaven once she got away from the draft…”
Patrick’s hoping this weekend goes a little more smoothly. “I’ll be going to the coronation, yes,” he confirms. “We’ve also been invited to Windsor for the Sunday concert in the afternoon. We’re very excited – very, very excited – and I know I’ll be completely blown away. It's going to be amazing to see all these dignitaries and have my music reverberating around the best echo chamber in the world. It’s going to be thrilling!” But he won’t be starstruck by all the princes and princesses… “Knowing me, I’ll probably underestimate their positions and say the wrong thing,” he laughs. “So, I’ll try to say as little as possible. I’ll stick to ‘Hellloooo!’ – and then try to make as many of them as late as I can…”